Latest news with #RoadSafetyHero
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Northland news in brief: Property values up
Free car seat checks Northland Road Safety Trust and its child restraint technician are offering free car seat checks, installs, tips and advice this week as part of Road Safety Week 2025. The aim is to ensure all car seats are installed correctly and safely, as 80% of child restraints are installed or used incorrectly. They will be at Otangarei Marae from 3pm until 6pm on Thursday, May 15. On Friday, May 16, a Road Safety Hero relay around the Hatea Loop will start at 1pm at the Canopy Bridge. Dress up in your most creative hero costume, pick up some road safety tips on the way, and be in to win one of many giveaways. DoC hut booking The Department of Conservation has opened bookings for its huts for the 2025/26 season, starting with backcountry huts, cabins, lodges and cottages. Bookings are open for popular shared huts like the Coromandel's Pinnacles Hut, Bushline in Nelson Lakes and Aspiring Hut. Fully bookable options include Te Whare Mata Uraura on Matiu/Somes Island, The Camphouse in Taranaki and Mimiwhangata Beach House in Northland. There are seven DoC huts in Northland. To make a booking, go to: Safe-drinking drive The Far North District Council has called on people across the district to share their thoughts on the selling and consumption of alcohol as the council aims to support safe, responsible drinking and reduce alcohol-related harm in communities. Insights will advise the council on how alcohol-free areas apply and develop a Local Alcohol Policy. The survey is open until May 30 and can be found on the council's website.
NZ Herald
11-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Road Safety Week 2025 urges caution after eight Northland road deaths
This year's Road Safety Week (12-18 May) urges the public to become a road safety hero, recognising everyone plays a role in making journeys and roads safer. Johnston said any road death is one too many. 'We say it all the time but it comes down to driving to the conditions – especially with winter on the horizon – not speeding, wearing seatbelts, ensuring children are in restraints." Johnston said too many motorists continued to drive distracted or under the influence of drugs and alcohol. 'The impact of road crashes can last a lifetime and destroy families.' Northland Road Policing manager Inspector Anne-Marie Fitchett said police and its partners were working hard to reduce the road toll. 'We've had eight people die on our roads this year compared with 18 at this time last year. 'While that is a vast improvement, every one of those people had families and people that cared for them who are now grieving.' She credited ramped-up enforcement efforts, specifically around speed and impaired driving, for improving road safety, but said motorists needed to step up too. 'In 2024, 22% of our deaths and serious injuries involved alcohol. Similarly, speed contributed to 33% of deaths and serious injuries on Northland roads in 2024, while 24% of those killed or seriously injured in light vehicles in Northland weren't wearing a seatbelt.' Fitchett said Northland's figures were the highest in the country. 'If we choose not to wear a seatbelt, we will have minimal protection in a crash. If we drive while impaired, we can't possibly hope to react in the way we need to. And if we speed, there is less time to react. 'Let's learn these lessons now rather than the devastating hard way.' The annual Road Safety Hero fun relay/walk around Hātea Loop, Whangārei, will take place on Friday at 1pm, starting at Pūtahi Park. 'It is a day full of fun, awareness, and a powerful message,' Johnston said. The event aimed to show support for road safety awareness and honour the people making the roads safer.
